Closure operator



Oct. 26, 1965 H. 1.. STAVENAU CLOSURE OPERATOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed Feb. 21, 1965 BY n/ I I I IWHHHI H.

Oct. 26, 1965 H. L. STAVENAU CLOSURE OPERATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 21, 1963 Oct. 26, 1965 H. L. STAVENAU 3,214,157

CLOSURE OPERATOR Filed Feb. 21, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 3,214,157 CLOSURE OPERATOR Harold L. Stavenau, Owatouna, Minn., assignor to Truth Tool Company, a corporation of Minnesota Filed Feb. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 260,958 9 Claims. (Cl. 268-104) This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 192,665, filed May 7, 1962, now abandoned.

This invention relates to closure operating mechanism and more particularly to a closure operator for obtaining easy, trouble-free opening and closing movement of an awning-type window or other similar closure.

There are many closure operators for windows which include mechanism mounted on the window frame and motion transmitting connections to the window sash. These mechanisms have not been entirely trouble-free, due to the different directions of movement of the parts and sliding movement of parts relative to each other during movement of the window and also the exposure of parts to the different weather conditions that may be encountered when the window is open.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved closure operator permitting easy, trouble-free operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure operator having means for transmitting movement of a manually operable member to a window sash including a shoe having bearing material of nylon or the like which receives a guide member attached to a sash to permit relatively free sliding movement of the shoe relative to the guide member and a pivotal mounting for the shoe to permit movement of said means relative to the shoe and guide member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure operator as defined in the preceding paragraph in which the motion transmitting means includes a lever arm composed of two sections with adjacent ends of the two sections being connected together by a hinge pin so that the shoe carried by the outermost section of the lever arm may be elevated relative to the other section of the lever arm and means preventing movement of the shoe to a level below said other section of the lever arm.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a closure operator having means for transmitting movement of a manually operable member to a window sash including a shoe having bearing material of nylon or the like which loosely receives a guide member attached to a sash to permit relatively free sliding movement of the shoe relative to the guide member and tilting movement of one relative to the other.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a generally horizontal sectional view of the Window and closure operator taken generally along the line 11 in FIG. 2 and showing the Window in closed position in broken line;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken generally along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section on an enlarged scale of a lever arm taken generally along the line 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section of a shoe and guide member taken generally along the line 44 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the tilting movement of the shoe and guide member relative to each other;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view similar to FIG. 1 showing the preferred embodiment of the invention;

3,214,157 Patented Oct. 26, 1965 FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section taken generally along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a section taken generally along the line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a transverse section taken generally along the line 9-9 in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a section taken generally along the line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention together with a modification thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the closure in one embodiment is an awning-type window having a frame indicated generally at 10 mountable in a window frame opening and having a window sash indicated generally at 11. The

window sash 11 is mounted for opening movement and lowering movement as it opens by slidably mounted pins, one of which is indicated at 12 in FIG. 2, which movably engage in grooves in the frame 10. Movement of the window sash 11 is further guided by a pair of rods mounted between the frame 10 and the sash 11, with one of these rods being indicated at 13, to assist in guiding the window sash as is well known in the art.

The window sash is moved between the closed position shown in broken line in FIG. 1 and a fully open position shown in full line in FIG. 1 and also in FIG. 2. The means for so moving the window sash includes a manually operable member in the form of a handle lever 15 which moves between the full line and broken line positions of FIG. 1 corresponding to open and closed positions of the window, respectively. The lever 15 is mounted on a base unit indicated generally at 16 supported on a sill 17 of the window frame 10. Movements of the lever 15 are converted into movement of the window sash by motion transmitting means including a pair of lever arms indicated generally at 20 and 21 and mechanism associated with the base unit 16. This latter mechanism is of the type disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,977,810, granted April 4, 1961 and thus only brief reference will be made to this mechanism herein.

The lever 15 is formed integrally with a drum 22 pivoted on the base unit by a pin 23. The drum has a pin 24 connected to a link 25 which is pinned by a pin 26 to a pair of spaced apart similar upper and lower cam plates with the lower cam plate being shown at 27. The cam plates are guided for movement on the base unit and each has a notch which receives a follower roller 28 carried at an end of one of the lever arms. The levers arms 20 and 21 are pivoted to the base unit by pins 29 and 30, respectively. It will thus be seen that as the lever 15 is manually operated from the full line position to the broken line position to close the window, the cam plates are moved upwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 to cause pivoting of the lever arms 20 and 21 to the broken line position. Movement of the lever 15 from the broken to full line position to open the window will cause lowering movement of the cam plates as viewed in FIG. 1 to pivot the lever arms 20 and 21 to the fully open position shown in FIG. 1.

The motion transmitting means includes, in addition to the lever arms 20 and 21, a guide member 35 which extends along and is releasably attached to the rail 35a of the window sash 11. This attachment is accomplished by a plurality of spaced pairs of openings 36 in the guide member which receive fingers 37 secured to the window sash and with releasable latch members (not shown) carried on the guide member which releasably engage the fingers. The connection is relatively loose, so that the guide member can tip about an axis parallel to its length to assume a tilted position relative to the sash in various open positions of the sash. The guide member 35, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is generally rectangular in cross section.

An added part of the motion transmitting means comprises a pair of shoes indicated generally at 38 and 39. The shoes are alike and each consists of a block 40 of relatively slippery plastic bearing material, such as nylon, or the like having a casing 41 formed of strip material having a pair of legs 42 and 43 which secure the shoe to its respective lever arm. As shown the shoe 39 is secured to lever arm 21 by means of a rivet 44 defining a pivot pin to permit pivoting the the shoe relative to the lever arm.

The shoe block 40 has an interior opening of a size greater than the guide member 35 to permit tilting movement of these parts relative to each other as encountered during movements of one relative to the other and when the window is in a partially open position. With the guide member 35 having a generally rectangular cross section, the interior opening 45 in the shoe block 40 has a substantially constant width, but is of varying depth, tapering to a throat 46 intermediate the ends thereof. The spacing at the throat is still greater than the thickness of the guide member 35, whereby the shoe block is free to tilt about both its longitudinal axis extending generally parallel to the guide member 35 as well as its transverse axis extending normal to the length of the guide member 35. The relation of the shoe and guide member when the window is fully open is shown in FIG. 4, with an extreme position of relative tilt of these parts shown in FIG. 5, which can be encountered when the window is less than fully open and the lever arms 20 and 21 are in an angled relation to each other. This oversize opening in the shoe block 40 permits relatively free movement of the shoes relative to the guide member and the shaping permits easy tilt of one relative to the other as will be seen in FIG. 5.

In order to further facilitate the easy trouble-free operation of the window, each of the lever arms 21) and 21 is formed of two sections as shown with respect to the arm 21 in FIG. 3. The arm has an inner section 51B and an outer section 51. The shoe 39 is carried at the outer end of the outer arm section 51. The sections 50 and 51 have ends adjacent each other with a bracket 52 secured to the outer end of the arm section 50 by a pin 53 carrying a hinge pin 54 received within a knuckle defined by legs 55 and 56 of the arm outer section 51. This hinge connection permits elevation of the shoe 39 relative to the base unit 16 to accommodate the motion transmitting means to the level of the window sash rail 36 which changes during opening and closing movements of the window.

In order to prevent downward movement of the shoe 39 to a level beneath that of the base unit 16, the arm outer section 51 has an end 57 positioned to engage the underside of the arm inner section 50 to limit movement of the sections relative to each other.

With the hinge pin 54 extending transverse to the length of the lever arm, the force exerted by the handle lever 15 is transmitted to the shoes 38 and 39 to result in movement of the window sash without tending to pivot arm sections relative to each other. The 'hinge pin 54 does permit elevation of the shoe and the pivot pins 44 connecting the shoes to their respective lever arms permit change in angle of the shoes relative to the lever arms.

In operation, with the window closed as shown in broken line in FIG. 1, the lever 15 is moved to the full line position, which moves the cam plates 27 to the full line position shown, to swing the lever arms 20, 21 from a generally in-line arrangement to an extended position in which they are generally parallel to each other. During this movement the outer sections 51 of the lever arms rise slightly and the relationship of the shoes 38 and 39 to their supporting lever arms changes from that shown in broken line to that shown in full line. The window may remain open in any position short of fully open as determined by the position of handle 15, which will be maintained by friction between the moving parts. Closing movement of the window is the reverse of that just described, with the lever 15 being manually moved tothe broken line position to shift the cam plates 27 upwardly, as viewed in FIG. 1 and move the lever arms 20 and 21 to the retracted, broken line position. If it is desired to disconnect the window sash from the closure operator the fingers 37 are removed from the openings 36 in the guide member 35 and the closure operator will maintain the position in which it is left with the ends 57 of the lever arm outer sections 51 preventing lowering movement of the shoes 38 and 39. v

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 6 to 10 in which the angularity between the guide member and motion transmitting means is in part obtained by a pivotal mounting for the shoes movably mounted on the guide member. In this embodiment, elements of structure corresponding to that shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5 are given the same reference numeral with a prime affixed thereto.

The guide shoes, as shown at 60 and 61 are formed of a relatively slippery plastic material, such as nylon or the like, and as shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 10, each have a hollow interior defined by spaced-apart upper and lower wall 62 and 63 and side walls 64 and 65. The top wall 62 and bottom wall 63 are spaced apart from each other a distance greater than the thickness of the guide member 35 and each of these Walls has an inwardly extending rib 66 and 67, respectively, slidably engageable with the guide member while permitting some tilting of the shoes relative to the guide member due to the angular relation assumed between the parts as described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5. The shoes 60 and 61 are mounted within clips 70 and 71, respectively, with these clips each being mounted for pivotal movement by a rivet 44.

To provide for an angle obtained between the guide member 35' and the lever arms 20 and 21', the shoes 60 and 61 are pivotally mounted by axes transverse to the length of the guide member 35'.

This mounting is obtained by having the clips 70 and 71 form box-like enclosures with each clip having a top wall 72, a bottom wall 73 and side walls 74 and 75. The sides 64 and 65 of the shoe are each formed with one of a pair of trunnions 76 and 77 with the trunnions being pivotal in openings provided in the clip side walls 74 and 75. A range of pivoting sufficient to take care of the angular relation between the guide member 35 and the lever arms is obtained by the vertical spacing between the top and bottom walls of the shoe with respect to the top wall 72 and bottom wall 73 of the clip as shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 10. A range of pivotal movement is shown in the comparison between the full and broken line positions of the clip 71 in FIG. 8.

I claim:

1. A closure operator for a window having a movable sash and a frame comprising, a base adapted for mounting on said frame, an elongate guide member adapted for attachment to a window sash, a lever arm pivotally mounted on said base for movement between a retracted position when the window is closed to an extended position when the window is fully open, a shoe pivotally mounted at an end of said lever arm, said shoe comprising a plastic bearing member having an interior opening of a size greater than said guide member to loosely fit said guide member and permit tilt of said shoe relative to the guide member about an axis normal to the length of the guide member, and means connected to said base for operating said lever arm.

2. A closure operator comprising, a lever arm formed of two sections, with an end of one section adjacent an end of the other section, a hinge pin extending transverse to the length of the lever arm connecting the adjacent ends of said sections together, a shoe of relatively slippery material having a hollow interior, a pivot pin extending through one of said lever arm sections and pivotally mounting the shoe for pivotal movement relative to the lever arm, and an elongate member adapted for attachment to a closure loosely received in said shoe.

3. A closure operator comprising, a lever arm formed of two sections, with an end of one section adjacent an end of the other section, a hinge pin extending transverse to the length of the lever arm connecting the adjacent ends of said sections together, a clip having a hollow interior, a pivot pin extending through one of said lever arm sections and pivotally mounting the clip for pivotal movement relative to the lever arm, a shoe of plastic material pivotally mounted on said clip and an elongate member adapted for attachment to a closure movably received in said shoe.

4. A closure operator for a window having a movable sash and a frame comprising, a base adapted for mounting on said frame, an elongate guide member adapted for attachment to a window sash, a lever arm pivotally mounted on said base for movement between a retracted position when the window is closed to an extended position when the window is fully open, a clip pivotally mounted at an end of said lever arm for movement about an axis normal to said arm, a shoe pivotally mounted in said clip comprising a plastic bearing member having an interior opening to loosely fit said guide member and means connected to said base for operating said lever arm.

5. A closure operator for a window comprising, a guide member adapted for attachment to a window sash, power means for moving said guide member including a power transmitting link, means connecting said link to said guide member including a mounting member and a shoe of plastic material through which said guide member extends, said shoe having a hollow interior with upper and lower projecting ribs slidably engageable with said guide member, a trunnion on said shoe pivotally mounting said shoe on said mounting member for movement about an axis transverse to the length of said guide member, and means pivotally mounting the mounting member to said link.

6. A closure operator for an awning type window having a movable sash and a frame including a sill and the like comprising, a base adapted for mounting on a window sill, an elongate guide member adapted for attachment to a window sash, a pair of lever arms each pivotally mounted on said base for movement between a retracted generally in-line position when the window is closed to extended generally parallel positions when the window is fully open, a pair of shoes pivotally mounted one on each of said lever arms, each of said shoes being hollow to movably receive said guide member therein, including plastic bearing material to facilitate movement of the shoes along said guide member, and manually operable means for moving said lever arms between retracted and extended positions, said elongate guide member being generally rectangular in cross-section and said plastic bearing material being a block having an interior opening of substantially constant width but of varying depth tapering to a throat intermediate the ends thereof, the spacing of said throat being greater than the thickness of said guide member whereby the shoe is free to tilt about both its longitudinal and transverse axes.

7. A closure operator for an awning type window having a movable sash and a frame including a sill and the like comprising, a base adapted for mounting on a window sill, an elongate guide member adapted for attachment to a window sash, a pair of lever arms each pivotally mounted on said base for movement between a retracted generally in-line position when the window is closed to extended generally parallel positions when the window is fully open, a pair of shoes pivotally mounted one on each of said lever arms, each of said shoes being hollow to movably receive said guide member therein, including plastic bearing material to facilitate movement of the shoes along said guide member, and manually operable means for moving said lever arms between retracted and extended positions, each lever arm having a clip mounted at an end thereof, and means mounting said shoes one on each clip for pivotal movement about an axis transverse to the length of said guide member.

8. A closure operator as defined in claim 7 in which said lever arms are each formed of two sections with an outermost section of each lever arm mounting the shoe, a hinge connection between said sections extending transverse to the length of and generally co-planar to the lever arm to permit pivoting of one relative to the other with the outermost section overlapping the underside of the adjacent section to prevent collapse of the lever arms when unattached to a window sash.

9. An operator for a closure comprising, a base, a manually operable member mounted on said base for controlling the position of said closure, and motion transmitting means between the manually operable member and closure including a guide member fastened to said closure, a lever arm pivotally mounted on said base and a shoe mounted on said lever arm, said shoe including a block of relatively slippery plastic material having a hollow interior and loosely receiving said guide member therein whereby the shoe may move easily along the guide member during opening or closing movements of the closure, said lever arm having a clip with a hollow interior pivotally mounted at an end thereof, said clip receiving said shoe and being of a size larger than said shoe, and means pivotally mounting the shoe and clip together including a pair of trunnions and pivot mountings therefor.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,775,446 12/56 Stavenau et a1. 268104 2,777,687 1/57 Jewett et al. 268-105 X 2,811,349 10/57 Bondurant et a1. 268104 2,899,195 8/59 Ahlgren 268105 3,114,542 12/63 Ahlgren 268-405 X HARRISON R. MOSELY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CLOSURE OPERATOR FOR A WINDOW HAVING A MOVABLE SASH AND A FRAME COMPRISING, A BASE ADAPTED FOR MOUNTING ON SAID FRAME, AN ELONGATE GUIDE MEMBER ADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO A WINDOW SASH, A LEVER ARM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID BASE FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A RETRACTED POSITION WHEN THE WINDOW IS CLOSED TO AN EXTENDED POSITION WHEN THE WINDOW IS FULLY OPEN, A SHOE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT AN END OF SAID LEVER ARM, SAID SHOE COMPRISING A PLASTIC BEARING MEMBER HAVING AN INTERIOR OPENING OF A SIZE GREATER THAN SAID GUIDE MEMBER TO LOOSELY FIT SAID GUIDE MEMBER AND PERMIT TILT OF SAID SHOE RELATIVE TO THE GUIDE MEMBER ABOUT AN AXIS NORMAL TO THE LENGTH OF THE GUIDE MEMBER, AND MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID BASE FOR OPERATING SAID LEVER ARM. 